One type of conventional floor truss which is used for supporting building floor surfaces, roof decks and the like is formed with a pair of parallel wooden chords, such as 2.times.4 or 2.times.3 wood members, arranged one above the other, and interconnected by diagonally arranged webs or struts made of wood or sheet metal. The webs are fastened at their opposite ends to the respective chords by means of nailing or by overlapping them with so-called connector plates, which are flat plates with struck-out teeth extending through holes in the web ends for being embedded within the wooden chords. Such types of trusses are normally manufactured in a factory building and transported to a construction site for installation as part of a building.
It is also known in the art of truss design and construction to use V-shaped metal webs of the type shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,352 and U.S. Pat. No. Re. 31,807. In this type of web, the connector plates are integrally formed with the web legs, which increases the strength of the truss and reduces handling and assembly of separate components.
According to prior practice, trusses have been custom fabricated on an as ordered basis. Each truss was made to design specifications to fit the particular order with no alterations permissible at the job site. Having to custom design each truss order slows down the truss manufacturing process and the ability to respond quickly to orders from the field. Further, the inability to adjust the length of the truss on site further slows down the construction process if a customized order does not meet the on the site specifications.
There is therefore a need for standard length truss designs which can be customized on site as required.